Author: News Room

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key rate steady on Wednesday, after a series of cuts that lowered rates by a full percentage point last year.That means consumers looking to borrow are likely to have to wait a bit longer for better deals on many loans, but savers will benefit from steadier yields on savings accounts.The central bank is waiting for more clarity on the economic outlook and the impact of President Trump’s policies on tariffs, immigration and widespread federal job cuts. Mr. Trump has publicly attacked the Fed chair, Jerome H. Powell, and his colleagues for keeping…

President Trump’s trade war has created chaos for companies around the world, snarling supply chains, sowing uncertainty and muddling their ability to plan for the future.After announcing tariffs that started at 20 percent for nearly all imports from European Union members — and more on other countries — the president has scaled the rate to 10 percent until July, saying his administration will use the time to negotiate bilateral deals with America’s trading partners. At the same time, Mr. Trump has escalated a trade war with China, potentially squeezing European companies.We are a team of reporters who write about business…

The signs inside Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport told the story on Wednesday morning: “Real ID, Enhanced, Passport” with an arrow pointing to the right, and “All Others” with an arrow pointing to the left.After years of warnings and postponements, “all others” are no longer enough to make it past airport security checkpoints. Travelers are now required to flash a federally compliant Real ID, a passport or another approved form of identification to board domestic flights.Deadline day started off calmly at LaGuardia, with many passengers arriving up to three hours early, heeding warnings of delays or complications from the Real…

Americans, struggling with rising costs, have been looking for ways to cut back on nonessential spending. But Disney, so far at least, apparently does not count as a discretionary expense.The company, reporting results for its winter quarter on Wednesday, said operating profit at its domestic theme park division had climbed 13 percent from a year earlier, to $1.82 billion. Revenue increased 9 percent, to $6.5 billion. Park attendance was up. Hotel room bookings were up. And spending on merchandise and food was up.Disney also reiterated that its experiences division as a whole (including overseas parks, cruises, and games and other…

The most powerful home page in entertainment is about to look a lot different.Beginning next week, Netflix will introduce a new home page design for television screens, the company’s first serious makeover since 2013. The redesign, which features fewer titles but more video and animation, is intended to present a sleeker look and get “people to press play, and stay,” the company said.The last time Netflix debuted a major home page redesign, the streaming service had just over 30 million subscribers and was only starting to make its own original programs. It now has more than 300 million subscribers, has…

Mickey Mouse is headed to the Middle East.In a new test for its singularly American brand, the Walt Disney Company said on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with the Miral Group, an arm of the Abu Dhabi government, to build a theme park resort on the Persian Gulf. The property, the seventh in Disney’s global portfolio, will have a castle and modernized versions of some classic Disney rides, along with new attractions tailored to the climate and local culture.“It’s not just about ‘If you build it, they will come,’” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said in brief…

The New York Times Company said on Wednesday that it added 250,000 digital-only subscribers in the last quarter, and that digital subscription revenue during the period jumped more than 14 percent.Those results helped drive adjusted operating profit 21.9 percent higher from a year earlier, to $92.7 million in the quarter. Total revenue rose 7.1 percent, to $636 million.The Times had 11.66 million total subscribers at the end of the first quarter, the company said, including 600,000 print subscribers. The company has a stated goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027.Meredith Kopit Levien, the president and chief executive…

The Federal Reserve is set to extend its pause on interest rate cuts on Wednesday amid concerns that President Trump’s tariffs will unleash fresh inflationary pressures while also hurting growth, a tricky combination that could lead to painful trade-offs for the central bank.A decision to stand pat would keep interest rates at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, a level reached in December after a series of cuts in the second half of 2024.Fed officials are in wait-and-see mode for now. They are closely tracking the incoming data for signs that consumer prices are rising again after a multiyear battle to…

WeightWatchers, a 62-year-old health and wellness company that has faced stiff competition from new weight-loss drugs and programs, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday in an effort to reduce its debt by more than $1 billion while it expands its telehealth business.In its heyday, WeightWatchers shaped how millions of people in the United States and beyond ate and exercised. Oprah Winfrey was once a spokeswoman and board member.But the company has struggled to keep its customers as people turn to weight-loss medications, fitness apps and social media influencers.Under a bankruptcy plan filed in Delaware, WeightWatchers will be taken over by a…

China’s central bank cut interest rates and made it easier on Wednesday for banks to increase lending and pump more money into the economy, in the most significant policy steps taken by Chinese officials to limit the impact of the trade war with the United States.The central bank, the People’s Bank of China, cut short-term interest rates and the amount of funds banks have to hold in reserve in a series of 10 measures. In a series of steps intended to keep the economy moving and people spending, Chinese officials removed restrictions on auto financing firms and freed up more…